Love the smell of coffee? Most do, even if they don't like drinking the substance that has powered a billion Internet blogs, this one included. According to scientists reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the scent of coffee has a surprising effect on rats that may mimic the effect in humans.
Researchers found that sleep-deprived rats exposed to the aroma of coffee beans displayed 13 genetic differences, including antioxidant activity that protects nerve cells from stress-related damage, protein fate, cell rescue, defense, virulence, cell communication and energy metabolism.
To sum up:
In conclusion, the roasted coffee bean aroma changes the mRNA and protein expression levels of the rat brain, providing for the first time clues to the potential antioxidant or stress relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma.
It may not be the elusive Unified Field Theory, but a universal theory of humor comes in a close second, at least in terms of perceived impossibility. In a report titled The Pattern Recognition Theory of Humor, Alastair Clarke has documented how and why humans find situations humorous, as well as explaining why humor is common in all societies.
“For some time now it’s been assumed that a global theory of humour is impossible. This theory changes thousands of years of incorrect analyses and mini-theories that have applied to only a small proportion of instances of humour. It offers a vital answer as to why humour exists in every human society.”
Humour is not about comedy it is about a fundamental cognitive function. Clarke explains: “An ability to recognize patterns instantly and unconsciously has proved a fundamental weapon in the cognitive arsenal of human beings.” Recognising patterns enables us to quickly understand our environment and function effectively within it: language, which is unique to humans, is based on patterns.
Clarke’s theory has wider implications: “It sheds light on infantile cognitive development, will lead to a revision of tests on ‘humour’ to diagnose psychological or neurological conditions and will have implications regarding the development of language. It will lead to a clarification of whether other animals have a sense of humour, and has an important role to play in the production of artificial intelligence being that will feel a bit less robotic thanks to its sense of humour.”
This research may explain why Mike Meyer's next movie, The Love Guru, appears totally void of humor: we've seen all of the jokes before when it was wrapped in an Austin Powers package.
Quantum of Solace, the latest Bond movie currently in production, has suffered a string of mishaps that have many wondering if the film is cursed. While I don't put much faith in superstition, I think accidents will continue to happen until they change the name of this f'n movie.
In the latest mishap, Daniel Craig has injured his hand during filming and received medical attention. This comes a week after Daniel suffered an undisclosed facial injury and two months after a couple of stuntmen were seriously injured performing a car chase sequence.
Cheeta the Chimp is a movie star, currently retired and living in Palm Springs at the ripe old age of 76, which is a World Record of some note, considering the average chimp lives 40-45 years.
There have been six attempts to get Cheeta a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in such movies as Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), Tarzan and His Mate (1934), Dr. Dolittle (1967) and perhaps the best movie of all time, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952). All six times, Cheeta has been denied his proper place on the Walk of Fame, the same stretch of sidewalk that has stars for such talentless hacks as Rick Dees and Ryan Seacrest.
Monkeys are one step closer to running the Federal Reserve and would probably do a much better job than their human counterparts, new research suggests. Scientists at the Italian National Research Center in Rome, Italy have proven that capuchins can understand the symbolic value of a mundane object.
But the monkeys behaved differently with real food and with tokens. This was apparent when the monkeys had to decide whether a large amount of a less-tasty food would be better than a single piece of their favourite food. In both tests there came a point when lots of B, or B tokens, would be chosen over a single piece of A, or an A token.
With real food, this threshold was around three pieces of B. But for the token test much more of the less-favoured food needed to be offered before the monkey would choose that option.
It's unclear why this should be the case, says Addessi. “They are able to reason with tokens as with real food, but they find it more difficult to reason with tokens,” she says. This behaviour is similar to that of a small child.
An alternative explanation might be that tokens are an abstract concept. The monkeys become less good at comparing two abstract sets of food – in a similar way to how many people spend more freely with a credit card than with cold, hard cash.
Sid Meier has hinted that a Civilization MMO may be in his future, something that gets my inner-geek all hot and bothered. Hell, it hasn't even been created yet and I'm already addicted.
“I'm exploring lots of exciting ideas right now. A Civ MMO is a really intriguing idea and we're spending time thinking about how we could make it the fun addictive experience Civ players expect. Beyond that I have some new ideas that are quite different from games I've made in the past – and that's all I'm able to tell you right now.”
Archaeologist Abdul Qader Hussan of the Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies believes he has located the first Christian church, which lies beneath Saint Georgeous Church in Rihab, Mafraq.
“We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians: the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ,” the scholar said.
The early Christians, described in the mosaic inscription on St. Georgeous floor as “the 70 beloved by God and Divine”, are said to have fled from Jerusalem during the persecution of Christians, to the northern part of Jordan, particularly to Rihab, he added.
Citing historical sources, the expert said the 70 lived and practised their rituals in secrecy in this underground church.
We believe that they did not leave the cave and lived until the Christian religion was embraced by Roman rulers.
“It was then when St. Georgeous was built,” said Hussan.
Saint Georgeous is believed to be the oldest “proper” church in the world, built in 230AD. This status is only challenged by a church unearthed in Aqaba in 1998, also dating back to 3rd century.
The findings in the graveyard near the cave offer valuable clues, according to Hussan.
“We found pottery items that date back from the 3rd to 7th century,” he added. The findings show that the first Christians and their offshoot continued living in the area till the late Roman rule.
Curt Schilling managed to score some choice tickets for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, allowing him to sit within earshot of the Laker bench. By his own admission, Curt had never sat so close to an NBA game and this fantastic view gave him new insight into the sport. What he saw surprised him, from the intense physicality to Kobe's ranting and bitching during timeouts.
Curt documented all of his observations at his blog, where you'll find a pretty lengthy and interesting post. Granted, you won't find much Laker love here, which may have a lot to do with the Celtic jersey Curt wore to the game.
5) Kobe. This one stunned me a little bit. Who doesn’t know Kobe Bryant right? I only know what I have heard, starting awhile back with the entire Shaq debacle. I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other on or about him other than to know that people feel he might be one of the 4-5 greatest players to ever lace it up. What I do know is what I got to see up close and hear, was unexpected. From the first tip until about 4 minutes left in the game I saw and heard this guy bitch at his teammates. Every TO he came to the bench pissed, and a few of them he went to other guys and yelled about something they weren’t doing, or something they did wrong. No dialog about “hey let’s go, let’s get after it” or whatever. He spent the better part of 3.5 quarters pissed off and ranting at the non-execution or lack of, of his team. Then when they made what almost was a historic run in the 4th, during a TO, he got down on the floor and basically said ‘Let’s f’ing go, right now, right here” or something to that affect. I am not making this observation in a good or bad way, I have no idea how the guys in the NBA play or do things like this, but I thought it was a fascinating bit of insight for me to watch someone in another sport who is in the position of a team leader and how he interacted with his team and teammates. Watching the other 11 guys, every time out it was high fives and “Hey nice work, let’s get after it” or something to that affect. He walked off the floor, obligatory skin contact on the high five, and sat on the bench stone faced or pissed off, the whole game. Just weird to see another sport and how it all works. I would assume that’s his style and how he plays and what works for him because when I saw the leader board for scoring in the post season his name sat up top at 31+ a game, can’t argue with that. But as a fan I was watching the whole thing, Kobe, his teammates and then the after effects of conversations. He’d yell at someone, make a point, or send a message, turn and walk away, and more than once the person on the other end would roll eyes or give a ‘whatever dude’ look.
July 11 can't come soon enough. We now know that as the day when the oft-rumored iPhone 3G will land in US stores. Revealed earlier today during Steve Jobs' keynote address at the Apple WWDC, the iPhone 3G could very well turn the mobile phone market on its head with its laundry list of features and incredible price point. Here's a breakdown of the new device:
• 3G cellular network resulting in much faster download speeds compared to EDGE.
• GPS integrated with maps. Location-based software will redefine how we interact on the go, and Apple wants to be at the forefront.
• Enterprise support for push email, calendar, and contacts with Microsoft Exchange.
• MobileMe replaces Apple's .mac service as a personal version of Exchange, supporting push email, calendar, and contacts.
• Other miscellaneous details: iPhone 2.0 firmware, 300 hours of standby battery life, 8-10 hours of 2G talk battery life, 5 hours of 3G talk battery life, 7 hours of video battery life, 24 hours of audio battery life, all plastic back.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the new iPhone is its price: the 8GB model will cost only $199 with a contract, while a 16GB model will be available for $299. Having just picked up a Nokia N82 last week for almost double the price of an 8GB iPhone 3G, you'd better believe that sucker is getting returned for Apple's new hotness. Sure the camera is a downgrade, but at that price who cares? It makes you wonder how Nokia and other premium handset makers will adapt their pricing model, now that Apple is packing most of their features into a phone that generally costs about half the price. In the end, no one but the consumer benefits the most.
The Offspring's latest album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is still a little over a week away, but you can enjoy it right now thanks to an online stream of the entire CD. The only song I've heard so far is Hammerhead, which has been getting a good amount of radio play here in Southern California. Hit the jump for the embedded player, and remember to pick up the album when it ships next week.
Joe Valenti, aspiring filmmaker, recently directed a short movie called The Amazing Adventures of Little Batman, starring a cast of 5-year-olds in all of the major roles. It's a nice piece of quality work with above average production values, though I have to wonder, how much longer will it be before DC Comics has a fit and demands this be removed from the net?
You gotta love it when a reporter ambushes a subject, only to have the tables expertly turned, suddenly finding yourself on the defensive. Such is the case when Porter Barry, producer of Bill O'Reilly's show, attempts to grill PBS' Bill Moyers. Moral of the story? Don't mess with Bill Moyers, especially if you represent an intellectually stunted network like Fox News.
When a volcano erupted in Indonesia in 2006, belching out massive amounts of mud that ultimately led to the displacement of 30,000 people and millions of dollars in damage, many pointed to an earthquake that had occurred a few days prior. Unfortunately, we can't blame nature for what happened, as a new report from UC Berkeley points the finger straight at a gas exploration well that was being drilled in the region.
This theory was challenged by the company that drilled the well and some experts who argued that the Yogyakarta earthquake two days before the eruption, which had an epicentre 250km from the mud volcano, was the cause.
Graduate student Maria Brumm and Prof Michael Manga of University of California, Berkeley undertook a systematic study to test the claims that the eruption was caused by this earthquake. They found that none of the ways earthquakes trigger eruptions could have played a role at Lusi.
Prof Michael Manga, of University of California, Berkeley, said: "We have known for hundreds of years that earthquakes can trigger eruptions. In this case, the earthquake was simply too small and too far away."
The new report concludes the effect of the earthquake was minimal because the change in pressure underground due to the earthquake would have been tiny. Instead, scientists are "99 per cent" certain drilling operations were to blame.
Prof Davies, of Durham University's Centre for Research into Earth Energy Systems (CeREES) explained: "We show that the day before the mud volcano started there was a huge 'kick' in the well, which is an influx of fluid and gas into the wellbore. We show that after the kick the pressure in the well went beyond a critical level."
"This resulted in the leakage of the fluid from the well and the rock formations to the surface � a so called 'underground blowout'. This fluid picked up mud during its accent and Lusi was born.
You don't spend $420-million on a Mars lander only to discover human dandruff, but that's what Nature is saying may happen once the TEGA instrument receives its first sample of Martian soil. If true, NASA scientists may want to incorporate liberal amounts of Head & Shoulders in their future bathing regimen.
The search for the organic building blocks of life has been a major selling point for Phoenix; many press accounts have eagerly, yet mistakenly, foreshortened the mission’s raison d’etre to ‘the search for life’. Yet some mission scientists say that it is the science goal least likely to succeed, partly because TEGA is so sensitive that it may end up sensing only contamination from Earth.
“We will see organics, for sure, because we’re bringing them,” says Aaron Zent, a mission scientist from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. Likely contaminants include skin flakes, dead microbes and volatile lubricants. “The problem with an instrument so sensitive is all you detect is your own schmutz,” says Zent.
Now we're talking synergy! It's been the holy grail of comic-based movies, having characters from one movie appear in another character's tale. While it may only be a cameo, Robert Downey reprises his role as Tony Stark for a brief scene in the forthcoming Hulk, further extending the reality of the Marvel universe. You'll find evidence of Stark's appearance in the clip below. If we can somehow get Iron Man and Spider-Man joining forces in the future, well, there will be a ton of happy fans.
when it ships next week.
